You’d Better Watch What You Say: The Fifth Amendment’s Role In Cross-Border Investigations

Originally published in InsideCounsel.com on July 11, 2012.

The government increasingly has turned its focus abroad, to cross-border investigations and prosecutions, garnering major headlines in cases involving the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and global antitrust conspiracies. The United States often gathers evidence and seeks to take testimony in tandem with law enforcement personnel in other countries. When a corporate employee faces a request for a voluntary interview or even compelled testimony in one country, there is a fear that the testimony will be made available to prosecutors or regulators in other countries.

Such a situation creates hard choices for institutions and individuals in the United States. Space does not permit a full assessment of the many complicated issues related to cross-border investigations, but it is useful to review a few basic rules about the application of the Fifth Amendment’s privilege against self-incrimination in the context of international criminal and regulatory investigations, as a window into this broader and timely subject.